I think of them, affectionately, as perfectionistas. Those people who begin a sentence with, “I know
nothing’s perfect, but…” But what? There is no “but.” Nothing’s perfect.
Linked with suicide, addiction, anxiety,
anorexia, depression, high blood pressure and early death, according to a recent study,
perfectionism is on the rise.
Social media may be driving the upswing as
we constantly compare ourselves with others. It’s no surprise that, with teens
spending as much as 9
hours a day on social media, and the average
daily worldwide social media use estimated at 135 minutes, we
experience a desire for the perfect lifestyle, including all the perfect houses,
jobs and people we see on-line.
Perfectionism, the relentless striving for
flawlessness and excessively high performance, sets the high bar by which we
consistently judge ourselves and find ourselves wanting. At the same time the
perfectionist worries about how others evaluate them.
I’m anticipating your question, the same
one my clients pose: “What’s wrong with trying to be as perfect as possible?”
